Collection: The Pairings of Shingeki no Kyojin
by Hayashi Mikako
Summary: A one-shot for every possible pairing in the Shingeki no Kyojin series. /1: EreMika - Ever since that day, she'd promised herself—wherever he went, she'd follow him—it was the kind of infinite cycle that never ended./ 2: Armikasa - She'd had mercy on him when the rest of this cruel world had not.
1. Infinity

**1)  
Title: ****_Infinity_****  
Pairing: Erekasa (Eren Jaeger x Mikasa Ackerman)  
Summary: ****_Ever since that day, she'd promised herself — no matter where he went, she'd follow him — it was the kind of infinite cycle that never ended. _**

* * *

_Ever since that day, she knew. It was the kind of promise silently made, to oneself, or shouted to the world — whichever she had chosen. And since that day she had shouted into the void, to him — Behold! This is I. Her strength. Making her mark. Precarious, certainly, a promise being a glass figure, broken by a single tap — but she knew, no matter where he went, she'd follow him. Live life by his side; constant, forever, eternal — companionship, truly. And she understood. And she could see it, feel it, reach her hand out and touch it, him and her dream, and reality..._

"Mikasa!"

_An image, a dream, only her imagination..._

"Mikasa! Look! I actually got some firewood this time! Ha! I don't need your help!"

_What is reality?_

"Ha, ha, ha..."

_On that day, she promised herself. No matter where he went, she'd follow him — forever. It was the kind of infinite cycle that never ended. She knew. The way a dog returns the stick to its owner, or how birds find their way home. She knew where he was headed, and in that sense she knew — where she was headed — towards him; for him; to spend the rest of her life being that tail, the back end needed to balance everything out._

"I bet, if you would just stop fussing over me..."

_But was it a dream or reality?_

"I could probably..."

_She knew. She knew where she wanted to go. She knew it was going to happen. It was reality, but upon awakening, who can tell the difference — between consciousness and imagination?_

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

She forces herself out of her thoughts.

"You're an idiot," she says, and it's true. And she doesn't want to insult him, or call him names — she doesn't want to see that _look on his face _but she has to, she has to survive with his idiocy and obliviousness — she has to let him understand that _it's because she cares_ — but _does he get it? _Is it _a dream_?

"Hey! You think you can just say that like you're better than me? Well, you're wrong, 'cause —"

_In the end, everything is for his sake, after all._

She is loyal. She doesn't pride herself on being so, but she knows that she is — unwavering, eternal.

She'd promised herself. She is infinity.

* * *

**A/N: **_I really shouldn't be starting another fic asfhaluvbalvubvlaeugvlieugvliaevgleuvgeluvkhelivuheai BAD IDEA_

_but I had to write something for SnK and i didn't know what so this is what i came up with some weird compilation_

_wellll this is what you get. And yes, I will be doing every single pairing in SnK I can think of. Every. Single. Pairing. I've even made a list. They get a little weird near the end, but stick with me_

_so... that's it for now~ reviews are always appreciated, so don't forget to leave me one_

_Thanks for reading!_

_- Mikako_


	2. Mercy

**2)  
Title: ****_Mercy  
_****Pairing: Armikasa (Armin Arlert x Mikasa Ackerman)  
Summary: ****_She'd had mercy on him when the rest of this cruel world had not._**

* * *

When he was little, Armin used to go down to the river and just sit by the bank, watching specks of light catch and shine off the surface. Even the sun, the stars, the rain, seeming so far away; when he was down there by the riverbank with his sandals and his dad's old picnic blanket, they seemed so real. It was like hope for him, and even when the storm clouds rolled in he could only watch, forlornly, as the gleaming rays of sun wavered and disappeared, and everything slowly came to be so dark in his world.

"It's a cruel world out there," said his grandfather, one day when he came home dripping with river water and tears because he'd fallen in, but his grandfather only smiled and brought him hot cocoa and a towel and said, "There are better days to come. Flowers will always bloom. Someday, you'll be strong."

But Armin knew. It wasn't a matter of working hard or wanting to be strong — he _had _to be strong. In this world, the strong bullied the weak. Tore them apart. Yelled at them, exploited them, took everything of theirs away. And he was the weak — laughed at, teased, could only watch as Samuel or Christian or Lily or any of the big bullies stomped on his belongings, on his hopes for dreams. And Armin knew that he was one of those lost causes — a bud that would _never _bloom.

Then one day something happened. Something that lit his sapphire eyes a little brighter, pulled his spine up a little straighter. One day, there was a flower.

The flower was a beautiful flower. It wasn't a withering bud like Armin, it _did_ bloom — blossomed. It shone with a bright and vibrant hue that _shimmered _like the very hope he once watched running down the riverbank with his sandals tossed aside and his feet splashing in the mud, one that shone and stood out like the last December red rose amongst its wilting comrades, one that passers-by would stop and sit and admire, and Armin knew that _this was what he was waiting for._

Something had come into his life.

* * *

"Her name is _Mikasa_," says Eren when the two of them had finally come to a conversation about the flower, who happens to be Eren's new foster sister. "It means something in her family's language. I wonder what my name means," he adds. Eren has always found a way to redirect the conversation back to himself. Armin is patient with him, but he is not willing to oblige him today.

"What's she like?" he interrupts, feeling ashamed for a moment but plowing on. "_Mikasa_, I meant."

"She's pretty cool, for a girl," Eren replies. "I mean, I can stand living with her. I guess." Armin fights the urge to roll his eyes. He doesn't want to seem rude in front of his best friend.

"I didn't mean that. Be more specific!"

It is Eren that rolls his eyes. "You aren't normally like this, Armin. What's wrong?"

"Answer the question!" Azure eyes are suddenly lit with a burning flame. Eren pauses, and Armin can tell he doesn't know what to do. Finally, he sighs.

"She is different from us because her family is from somewhere else. Since they are different, someone tried to hurt them. So _Mikasa_'s family is dead now. She was really quiet when she first came to live with us, probably because she was sad. I feel really bad for her. I don't know what I would have done if my family died like that," says Eren.

Armin has given up. For once, he is angered at his best friend. And for once, he is unsure what to reply.

* * *

He looks into the eyes of the lacquer-haired girl ("Her name is _Mikasa_," Eren's voice rings in his head), and he realizes that she is everything he has imagined her to be.

She extends a hand to pull him up. "Are you alright?" Her eyes yield no emotion. Her gaze casts down on him.

"I…" He is shocked; speechless. He knew she was strong — he knew of her definite power, her ability — to beat up those bullies and scare them away like that. And Armin knows he is weak. He knows that she is supposed to look down on him. He knows that she is supposed to join those bullies and laugh in his face. But she did not.

Armin Arlert is seven years old, and he has, for the first time, experienced what mercy truly is.

* * *

_Mikasa _is strong. She has an intense gaze, a beautiful yet powerfully built frame. Armin knows she can easily strike anyone down — she is at the top of the ladder of strength. Armin knows that she can take advantage of him, of Eren, of Samuel or Christian or Lily or any of the kids in town. But he knows that she is kind like no one he has met before.

_Mikasa _is strong. She is strong in that silent manner, like the birds that don't caw when they catch their prey: so amazing yet lonely and so very sad. _Mikasa _is the moon in the night sky, she is the candle in the darkness, the sign on the winding path.

_Mikasa _is strong, but she has never used her strength to only save herself. She has shared her strength with those who are hurt, abandoned. _Mikasa _is willing to protect others with her power, even in this world where everything is so clean-cut, so black and white, _Mikasa _is willing to be the one person that can be both.

_Mikasa _is strong, but she knows what it feels like to be weak.

_Mikasa _is strong, but she'd had mercy on him when the rest of this cruel world had not.

* * *

**A/N: **_yep, that's what i got_

_let's just say i really did try, huh?_

_don't forget to leave a review~ even criticisms are appreciated — I'm always looking for ways to improve._

_Thanks for reading! _

_- Mikako_


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